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What's On Our Minds

Conference Reflections on Practice, Community, and Change

by Nancy Ng

 

photo with Nathan F.

 

17 activities marked the conclusion of Luna’s participation in back-to-back national conferences in November—the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) in San Antonio, Texas; and the National Guild for Community Arts Education here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Luna has been members of both professional organizations for over 10 years. This year our flurry of presentations, speeches, and meetings deepened my understanding of our organization’s role in the national arts education dialogue, and the role each of us has to play in the arts education ecosystem. I was moved by the honesty and truth revealed by our colleague dance educators who attended Cherie Hill and Patricia Reedy’s workshop, “Embedding Dance, Race & Equity into Practice”, and NDEO’s first Dance & Equity special interest group discussion that I facilitated. I was awed by Patricia as she held a room of 75 arts administrators captive at the National Guild conference with her session on evaluation, “Purposeful Evaluation: How Do We Know We’re Walking Our Talk.” One of the participants shared with Patricia, “It was inspiring, relevant and on point as to what we should be doing at our organizations! It was an important message and lesson for all of us in the arts . . . . I think your session was one of the most relevant at this great meeting.” This participant was the CEO and President of a music organization in Ohio. I share this, not to gloat on Luna’s success, but to emphasize that as practitioners who go about doing our work every day—whether that be teaching, or administering our arts programs it is imperative that we remain true to our core artistic values, and share what we have learned with our arts education community. This truly is the only way we can move forward, instead of backwards, as a field.

At the beginning of the whirlwind of conference activities, I worked with the NDEO staff to curate an early childhood conference track which allowed early childhood educators to take multiple workshops. All of them were well-attended, and a completely different experience than 10 years ago when my first early childhood presentation at NDEO had four people in the room. As a field we are moving forward and more young children are experiencing dance education as a human “right”.  The highlight of the early childhood sessions was meeting Nathan Febuary at the creative dance workshop I taught, which was the first ECE workshop of the conference. Nathan and his wife were attending the conference for the first time. They both teach at “Just Dance”, a studio in Louisiana. He asked to take a “selfie” with me, and when I saw him a day later, after he had taken a few of the early childhood workshops he said, “This conference has changed my life.” Both Nathan and his wife are inspired to bring new curricula, and new creative ideas into their studio classes. All of the ECE colleagues who have attended NDEO conference for many years came together to share our practice at NDEO, and create a community for early dance educators.

For nine days straight through mid-November, I was immersed in both conferences as a host, meeting facilitator, presenter, and a newly elected National Guild board trustee; and I observed my Luna colleagues Cherie and Patricia as they also participated on conference panels and led workshops and discussions. As the Luna team, we shared our insights on inclusion, early childhood education, equity, community partnerships, evaluation, advocacy and policy. These have all been areas of inquiry for us at Luna. It was thrilling to share our practice, learn from others, and witness the impact all of us can have as teaching artists to move our country forward at a time when the national picture seems bleak. I truly believe we actually have a huge opportunity now to create community and collectively manifest change.

Both the NDEO and National Guild conferences were well-attended, with approximately 700 participants at each one. If you are reading this blog I encourage you to step-up in your profession—join us at Luna for a dialogue or workshop, find out more about the national professional organizations that serve our field (http://www.ndeo.org/   http://www.nationalguild.org/Home.aspx), attend a 2018 conference (NDEO in California, National Guild in Maryland), submit a proposal for one of the conferences next year. All step-ups are encouraged—having tea, coffee, a critical conversation with a colleague is also a step toward community and change.

*photo of Nathan Febuary & Nancy Ng at NDEO Conference 2017

lunadance
December 1, 2017
What People are Saying

Stories that move us

Luna Holds the Thread by Nancy Ng

Constancy, guts, unwavering determination – these were on my mind when I greeted Paula, a parent at one of our Oakland schools. Her family danced with Luna several years ago at a residential recovery center where we bring MPACT (Moving Parents and Children Together).

Six years ago, Teresa was dancing with her foster mother at a community site while waiting to be reunified with her birth mother. A season or two later, we met up with her again—this time dancing with her birth mother at a residential center. Dance was the way they were able to reconnect.

During those MPACT sessions, Paula was pregnant and gave birth to her son Justin. She was joyfully dancing with both of her kids the week after he was born. Justin was snuggled close in a baby carrier while Paula held on to Teresa ‘s hands twirling, rocking and gliding. Paula and her children danced with us throughout her recovery and once she left the center they came to free family dance classes at the Luna studio. We ran into each other occasionally when she came to visit staff at the residential center–both children in tow. She always greeted me with a huge hug and let me know that she was adjusting well to life outside of the residential center.

After not seeing this family for a couple of years I was thrilled to meet them again at one of our school sites. Last year, Patricia and I taught her daughter, Teresa in a fourth grade class; and Amelia taught her son during his weekly transitional Kindergarten dance class. After a few weeks of teaching, Teresa ran up to me while I was putting dance supplies away and pulled me towards her mother. Paula gave me a huge hug and ran to get her son to meet me. Of course, he did not remember me, but stared at me with wide open eyes as I crouched down low to say “hi”. Paula said, “This is my friend Nancy, she knew you when you were a baby.” Then she introduced me to her fiancé who was standing right next to her—he greeted me with a firm handshake and smile.

Click here for more 25th Anniversary stories.

lunadance
November 29, 2017
Press Releases

Luna Dance Institute Presents at Two National Arts Education Conferences

lunadance
November 3, 2017
Published Articles

Dance Educators Create Systemic Change

Cherie Hill – InDance

lunadance
November 1, 2017
Teachers Creating Change

Laura Richey

IMG_1370

Physical Education teacher Laura Richey has found a way to bring creativity to all of her teaching. “In traditional PE training 15 years ago that was not the approach. [Luna’s Summer Institute] was almost like a rebirth as a teacher. Or an awakening, gosh, why haven’t I been teaching this way the whole time?” By participating in the Summer Institute (SI) in 2013 she was not only able to learn the language of dance but how to invigorate student learning. Now her teaching approach no longer is just a unit on dance, rather dance is interwoven into all of her curriculum, because she is using a creative lens in which to teach sports concepts. “So many of the dance concepts (pathways, changing directions, levels) you can apply throughout the whole curriculum, whether you are talking about soccer, lacrosse, or a tag-game. The start of the school year is full of Luna, because it is the springboard for some of the other concepts taught.”

Laura has been a PE teacher for a long time. Prior to teaching in Piedmont Unified in 2009, she taught in southern California in public and private schools. She has a long history in the field of Physical Education and has experienced the pedagogical shifts. Thinking about PE from a Creative Dance approach was a mental shift that now shapes her present teaching approach and in many ways she feels is her greatest achievement, bringing creative movement to the physical education setting where students typically are instructed on the “correct” way to move. “The goal of physical education is to create lifelong movers with high levels of physical literacy and self-efficacy related to their movement ability.”

Her first challenge was to overcome her feelings of hesitation because she did not identify as a dancer. The act of jumping right in would give her firsthand information on how her students might feel and how to support their learning, and Laura willingly took the plunge, saying: “You are never too old to re-invent or discover a new part of yourself.” As a SI participant she learned how to create a safe environment for students to experiment with movement concepts, develop a teaching progression for introducing dance concepts that bridge the gap between dance instruction and physical education, and embrace the idea that there can be no right/wrong way to move in PE class settings. “This new approach allows all students to experience success without a winning or losing atmosphere. This is important because students perceive success and failure in public and the more skilled sports movers typically dominate.” This creative approach is aligned with her physical education goals. Laura reflects that by giving students the power and responsibility to create movement and “be in charge,” they challenge their mind/body connection, therefore increasing their physical literacy.

Thinking about PE from a creative dance approach also shaped her role as a leader in Piedmont Unified School District (PUSD). In collaboration with her colleagues, she is working to shift instruction in PE in PUSD because she sees how “creative dance concepts weave beautifully into the CA physical education state standards and provide building blocks for movement concepts needed for students to be successful, competent movers.” She works with over 500 students TK-5th grade at Havens and other elementary schools. She shared that many of the PUSD PE team have taken courses through Luna and have adopted a creative dance, integrated approach to teaching. Now, spreading dance instruction throughout the district at all levels is important to them. They have become a support network and advocates for each other in the district. For example, when they heard that the high school dance teacher’s position was in jeopardy, all of the PE teachers lobbied on her behalf. “We have created and become allies and a community to each other.” They are also connecting high school dance teachers to elementary schools to provide opportunities for student showing, allowing elementary students to this is what dance can look like later in their school career. “We take elementary students to HS students’ performances and HS students will teach classes to the elementary.” Presently, PUSD is restructuring the PE department and program and the PE team is working together to advocate for a creative approach to instruction and expand dance. The process has its set of challenges but all of them are committed to shifting the paradigm. On this personal and professional journey into creativity Laura has found meaningful ways to impact those around her.

In 25 years, Luna has worked with hundreds of teachers who we’re now proud to say are teaching all around the globe.

From Emily Blossom to Jakey Toor, our past Professional Learning colleagues are collectively and cumulatively teaching tens of thousands of children. We’re sharing their stories, about how they continue to positively impact the dance education field, the future, the world.

lunadance
November 1, 2017
What People are Saying

What parents are saying

“It’s super important to feel comfortable with yourself, with your body and dancing really makes awareness in young children. Class like yours is so essential.” Studio Lab Parent

“I hope that this connection to herself and ability to take feedback/prompts without triggering that deep wound can continue to flourish and provide another way for her to navigate being a learner.” Studio Lab Parent

lunadance
October 17, 2017
Luna in the Media

Learning to Dance, Dancing to Learn – Mills Quarterly

lunadance
September 11, 2017
What's On Our Minds

Addressing Equity: Disability & Inclusion

by Deborah Karp

In early August, I had the honor of presenting at the Kennedy Center-VSA Intersections conference in Austin, TX. My colleague, Nia Womack-Freeman, and I shared the successes, joys, challenges and discoveries of the first year of Luna’s Dance Inclusion Class pilot project. A school-wide initiative in partnership with Oakland Public School Grass Valley Elementary, Nia and I taught dance classes for children with and without disabilities across all grades in an effort to deepen a school culture of dance, empathy and community. At our conference presentation, participants from across the country danced full-out during an experiential lesson; smoothly turning and sliding in and out of the floor, sharply jumping and galloping toward and away from each other, creating short dance compositions and performing them for each other. After reflecting as a group, Nia and I gave a slide presentation addressing the history, details, and questions for further inquiry that arose from this project’s first year. We were met with a warm response; participants had questions and were hungry to find new ways to bring new inclusive dance to their students and communities. It was a fantastic opportunity to connect with colleagues at a national level, gain new tools and insights, and be inspired by new practices and approaches in art-making and ability. Some further resources we offered during our slide presentation are below. If you have any questions or want to know more, please feel free to reach out at dkarp@lunadanceinstitute.org.

– Pamela Wolfberg’s Integrated Playgroups®
http://www.autisminstitute.com/

– Axis Dance Company
http://www.axisdance.org/

– Universal Design for Learning: Why Does it Matter to Dance Teaching? By Patricia Reedy

Universal Design for Learning: Why Does it Matter to Dance Teaching?

– Making Dance Accessible to Students With Disabilities By Alisa Rasera
http://education.kennedy-center.org/education/vsa/resources/webinars.cfm

lunadance
September 6, 2017
Teachers Creating Change

Rosemary Hannon

Rosemary-Hannon

Rosemary first encountered Luna through founder Patricia Reedy when they were introduced at a Bay Area arts education providers’ meeting in the early 2000s. At the time Rosemary was already a well-seasoned teaching artist, having taught music and dance in public schools through the arts education non-profit Young Imaginations since 1996. Luna’s child-centered approach to creative dance education inspired her own teaching practice, and she found that the practical and theoretical training she received through Luna’s Professional Learning workshops complemented her degree in arts-integrated teaching. Rosemary is woven into Luna’s history and continuing legacy as a past faculty member 2005-07, as a Summer Institute alumna, and now as a colleague and fellow expert in the field.

A prolific artist and committed educator, Rosemary addresses her own creative identity by becoming actively involved in many facets of the Bay Area dance scene. From organizing dance events that build community, to cultivating much needed East Bay arts spaces through studio management, Rosemary, like many dancers, does a little bit of everything. But she has been most lauded for her choreography – her piece Gallus Gallus Domesticus was nominated for an Isadora Duncan Dance Award in 2013 – and for her teaching – she was recognized as an Outstanding Educator for Berkeley Unified School District in 2014.

Since 2007 she has been teaching standards-based dance at Berkeley’s Cragmont Elementary, where she also collaborates with classroom teachers to support the integration of dance into other core subject areas. Selected as one of Luna’s Leadership Cohort in 2015, Rosemary focused her inquiry on articulating dance goals to build a more comprehensive district-wide dance program in Berkeley Unified. She is a well-known local Contact Improvisation and Axis Syllabus teacher-candidate and the somatic inquiry of both practices inspires her investment in anatomy, biomechanics and physics. She continues “to be curious about the intersection of creative process and somatic inquiry” and how that manifests through technical training. She credits Luna for how she organizes her dance lessons and units. “The arc generally follows creative process cycles – exploration, improvisation, composition, performance, reflection.”

Rosemary’s long term impact on her students is clear from this story: Last year I was inspired by a student I had worked with who entered a grade level that I wasn’t teaching. He loved dancing so much he started choreographing a dance for his whole class. His teacher followed his lead and helped the class practice so that they were able to perform his dance at one of our school assemblies.

In 25 years, Luna has worked with hundreds of teachers who we’re now proud to say are teaching all around the globe.

From Emily Blossom to Jakey Toor, our past Professional Learning colleagues are collectively and cumulatively teaching tens of thousands of children. We’re sharing their stories, about how they continue to positively impact the dance education field, the future, the world.

lunadance
September 1, 2017
Press Releases

Luna Awarded CAC “Local Impact”, “Artists in Schools”, and “Professional Development and Consulting” Grants

lunadance
August 1, 2017
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